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Elton John Reveals 'Diving Board' Release Date, Cover Art

The T Bone Burnett-produced album is the singer's first studio effort in seven years.

Elton John is gearing up to release his first studio album in seven years.

The Diving Board will hit retailers on Tuesday, Sept. 24. Produced by T Bone Burnett, the album is said to be a return to form and features 12 new songs written by the hit songwriting duo of John and longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin.

“In many ways, I feel like I’m starting again, making records,” said John in a statement. “Several years ago when beginning to work with T Bone and being in the studio with Leon Russell for The Union, I had to ask myself, ‘What kind of music do I really want to make?’ and I realized that I had to go back to go forward again. I needed to strip away the excesses and get back to the core of what I do as an artist. That’s what The Diving Board represents. I’m incredibly excited about every aspect of this album: The performances, T Bone’s production, Bernie’s lyrics and the songs we’ve created. The Diving Board is the album I’ve been waiting to make for decades.”

Added Burnett: “I saw Elton at the Troubadour in 1970, in a legendary week of shows. Those shows never left me. A three-piece band -- piano, bass and drums, like one enormous instrument -- just killing it. So we started from there. I wanted to be able to superimpose this recording over my memory of the sound and the wild intelligence of those shows. From that perspective, forty years down the road, The Diving Board is an album of music by a master at the peak of his artistic powers.”

The album, being released by Capitol Music Group, is now available for preorder on iTunes and Amazon and via the official Elton John website. A 180-gram 2-Disc vinyl set is also planned.